Chael Sonnen praises Muhammad Mokaev and believes he’s heading back to UFC

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has praised flyweight star Muhammad Mokaev and thinks he’s heading back to the UFC.

For the longest time now, Muhammad Mokaev has been viewed as an incredibly exciting prospect at flyweight. During his time with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it certainly seemed as if he was building his way towards a title shot. Alas, in the end, that didn’t quite come to fruition, and he was instead released following his big win over Manel Kape.

RELATED: Muhammad Mokaev reveals frustration at being painted as a ‘bad guy’ by UFC

It was reported that there was a falling out between the UFC and Mokaev, with the promotion not being all too happy with his attitude. Ever since then, he’s been able to string together a handful of impressive wins outside of the UFC, including a head kick knockout at Brave CF last weekend.

As talk of re-signing him continues to grow, Chael Sonnen gave his thoughts on the future of Mokaev.

Sonnen praises Mokaev and predicts UFC return

“I think Muhammad Mokaev is headed back to the UFC, and by the way, if he gets back, they will fast-track him,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “There’s just a thing that they do, something about it. There’s something about it if you’re with them, you leave and you make it back, when you come back, it’s like hey, there’s no point in us building you and promoting you. Whatever you’ve done, we think you belong and we’re going to put you in the deep end right now.

“We’re either going to send you back where you came from, which is gone, or we’re going to send you to the top. I just think that the way Muhammad Mokaev is playing this is perfect. I really do. He was a young guy. I forgive him, and I don’t even know what happened. He didn’t sacrifice his pride. He’s been a man about it. I think all this is going to work out, and when it does, he will be a point of inspiration for other guys who got released and needed a second chance.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie